As the title. I'm not the most creative or experienced in class homebrew, so I want to call upon the Powers of the Playground to aid me on my journey. The idea is, you comment with an idea for an ability or two, I add it to a lit of ones I like, then when I have enough I string it all together into a class, then you all PEACH it right in the face as hard as you can. I don't know if this has been done before, but I'm willing to try something new!

So, the concept is a sort of superhero class. You don't necessarily have superpowers, but have sworn a (paladin-like) oath to some end, and have trained or been granted power to that end. The main mechs would be sort of a weird hybrid of the Rogue's ambush tactics, the Fighter's combat prowess, and the Ranger/Paladin specialized abilities and thematicism.

For subclasses, I'm thinking one for called a Herosmith (for those that create a piece of super-powerful and iconic piece of equipment, like Starks' Suit or maybe even Thor's Hammer), Skirmisher (a skilled master of guerrilla tactics and shadow warfare, like Batman or Wolverine), Patriot (an upholder of justice and might, like Captain America or Superman) and Weavescourge (one who uses magical power, like Doctor Strange or Scarlet Witch). Subclass names and concepts open for change.

So if you're interested, chime in! What sorts of things do you want a Superhero in 5e to do?

SunderedWorldDM

2018-12-10, 09:18 AM

(As an example of what I'm looking for, and throwing my own ideas into the ring, here's a sample post.)

Flight. At some point, the ability to fly is a must for high-level Vigilantes.
Fighting Styles. The Vigilante probably needs some fighting styles.
Unarmed Attack. Either for the main Vigilante or the Patriot (biff! oof! pow!), some form of beefed-up unarmed strike would be nice.
Weavescourge. Probably should use either the Wizard or Sorcerer spell list, and the subclass abilities should be something like the Warlock's EB enhancements (because when have you seen a superhero wizard do anything but toss around bolts of energy?)
Vigilante. Maybe they should have some toned-down version of Sneak Attack?

clash

2018-12-11, 12:32 PM

I would build this in a modular way with something similiar to warlock invocation that can be taken for a wide array of customizable powers.

Lacuna Caster

2018-12-14, 02:13 PM

For subclasses, I'm thinking one for called a Herosmith (for those that create a piece of super-powerful and iconic piece of equipment, like Starks' Suit or maybe even Thor's Hammer), Skirmisher (a skilled master of guerrilla tactics and shadow warfare, like Batman or Wolverine), Patriot (an upholder of justice and might, like Captain America or Superman) and Weavescourge (one who uses magical power, like Doctor Strange or Scarlet Witch). Subclass names and concepts open for change.

So if you're interested, chime in! What sorts of things do you want a Superhero in 5e to do?
One thing we have to be crystal clear about here- not all superheroes are vigilantes. Superman fighting Zod or Dr. Strange fighting Dormammu is not vigilantism, because the threat from Zod and Dormammu is not something regular law-enforcement (or even a conventional military) is scoped to handle. They're not expected to grapple with alien gods, so it's not an institutional failure when they can't. If Superman decided to overthrow the Russian government and rule it's people like a king, that would (aside from being canonically uncharacteristic) also not be vigilantism, because that's a direct overthrow of legal authority in the pursuit of power- there's nothing to rebel against, no higher ideal. And when Black Widow performs a covert assassination op in a foreign jurisdiction at the behest of SHIELD, that's also not vigilantism, because she's both part of an existing system of permissions and not necessarily concerned with justice, per se. They're something else.

A vigilante is very specifically someone who has a commitment to the goal of justice while pointing a finger at the existing and recognised justice system and saying "you are not doing a sufficiently good job, so I will do it for you. Don't get in my way."

So with all that in mind, what's the diversity in the field? Powers and abilities- sure, those can range a bit. Moon Knight is mystic in his origin, Swamp Thing too. Batman is pretty strong when it comes to gadgetry, while Robocop, slightly further afield, is a piece of gadgetry. Daredevil and Spiderman have low-to-mid-tier metahuman abilities. And sure, stealth and martial skill and detective work are always useful. But those are just means to the end.

The first question about the character should be: What is your grievance? What injustice left it's mark on you?
The second question should be: What system has failed you? Who could have addressed this injustice, but didn't?
The third question: Is your hatred pure? What code, inhibition or ideal elevates you above petty revenge or ambition?

And then you can think about what gives you the power to seek justice- training and study, fancy tech, etc. etc. But those questions give you the backstory, the setting, and the moral backbone of the character. All else equal, I would start from there.

Lacuna Caster

2018-12-14, 08:18 PM

Now, to be clear, if what you're really aiming for is to try and capture a wider spectrum of superhero archetypes, that's fine. (Lot of work involved, and I'm not sure why you'd use D&D for the purpose instead of something from a range of dedicated superhero RPGs, but fine.) I'm just saying the vigilante per se would be, in role-play terms, a special case within that wider spectrum.

So if the Vigilante is defined by a particular set of psychological/background parameters, here are some other backgrounds to consider:

The Soldier- whom do you serve? What was your mission? Do you have allies or enemies? (Black Widow, Captain America)

The Sovereign- where do you rule? What are your obligations? How do you treat neighbours? (Aquaman/Namor, Doctor Doom)

The Alien- where is your home? What is your legacy? Are you accepted or exiled? (Superman, Thor)

The Accident- what drew you to investigate? What went wrong? How do you put it to use? (The Fantastic Four, Green Lantern)

The Freak- why are you feared? Do you fear yourself? Have you a family now? (The X-Men, Raven from Teen Titans)

etc. etc. etc. each background probably has some intrinsic connection to some kind of mundane or inhuman powers, but you could otherwise mix and match with particular types of power (Man/Machine Interface, Mystic Arts, Metabiology, Training/Study) more-or-less at will. In principle you could even combine multiple backgrounds (e.g, Accident/Vigilante for Spiderman or The Toxic Avenger, Soldier/Vigilante for the Punisher, Alien/Sovereign for Wonder Woman or Thor, and possibly Accident/Sovereign for Doctor Strange. Batman, arguably, is a Vigilante/Sovereign.)